


Where You Bean?

by CBlue



Series: The Coffee Shop Trope Verse [1]
Category: We Are In Fics Universe (WAIFU)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, F/M, Mutual Pining, PJ just wants some coffee, Pali's Friends Are So Done, Tyler Needs To Not
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-13
Updated: 2018-10-13
Packaged: 2019-08-01 08:14:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,927
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16280882
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CBlue/pseuds/CBlue
Summary: It's been a long day at the "Bean Ol' Time" and Pali just wants to go home and soak her feet. It'll take more than coffee to keep her awake for the rest of her shift, but maybe the mild manner customer she's been crushing on can help her instead.





	Where You Bean?

**Author's Note:**

  * For [CharalampidisGruber](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CharalampidisGruber/gifts).



> I only have myself to blame. We are Number One. Welcome to more WAIFU.

Pali sighed as she scrolled through her Tumblr. The store was dead, again. It was surprising. They were only a few hours from closing, and most people were heading home. Pali herself would prefer a pot of coffee if she could sit her feet up and give her cat, Ellie, some tummy rubs. She sighed again, more wistful as she longed for home. Home was just a small apartment and a loving cat, but it was home.

She ground herself back to reality when PJ, a well established customer, sauntered to the counter for another coffee. She smiled pleasantly. "Long day?" PJ inquired as she looked over Pali's features.

Pali nodded, automatically going through the motions to make PJ another piping hot cup of her usual. "Yeah." She bemoaned. "Mostly because it's been so dead." Pali shook her head, causing her bangs to brush her forehead. "Tyler and Cee are in the back. Tyler's redoing the stock count, again, and Cee is cleaning."

PJ gave a snort of laughter. "Sounds like it's been a hell of a boring day." She graciously took the finished coffee from Pali with a grateful nod. "Thanks. Well, I guess I should probably finish the rest of these papers at home. Good luck." She grinned, waving a goodbye as she gathered her papers and rushed out the door.

The barista adjusted her cap, watching with some jealousy as PJ hurried home. She had someone to go home to that could actually talk back with human words. She also had an escape from this boring hell state. Pali dragged her feet back over, sitting on her small stool.

"Plai?" The deep voice hollered from the back room. "Is she gone?"

Sighing, Pali responded. "Yes, she's gone."

Tyler, the tall figure, emerged from the back. He grinned with ease. "Good. Because she's stinking." Tyler teased with good nature.

Pali rolled her eyes, smiling despite herself. "You're stinky." She stuck her tongue out at Tyler. He always tried to aim for aloof, but he was too much of a sweetheart for Pali to not have considered him her brother. 

He gasped dramatically, clutching at his chest. "I can't believe you would do this to me. You're so mean." He clicked his tongue. "Cee wouldn't do this to me."

"Oh, Cee would." The red-headed, short counterpart emerged from the room with a smirk. "She would quite often."

Tyler huffed, crossing his arms. "You would because you're a meaner."

Cee rolled her eyes, smirk slipping into a grin. "Yeah, and you're a pooper."

"At least twice a day." Tyler quipped back quickly. 

Pali smiled, setting her phone in her back pocket. Her two adoptive siblings were much more entertaining than Tumblr, at least usually. And she had been scrolling for hours with no relief from the sheer amount of boredom she was in. "Guys, you're both poopers." She stood from her seat. "We've still got like, two more hours."

Tyler groaned, throwing his head back. "But why?" He draped himself over one of the more expensive coffee machines. "Why are we even here? Why did I let you talk me into doing this? I want to go home." He wailed, asking for sympathy. 

"Well, you would have done it anyways." Cee giggled. "You kind of get bored easy."

"Which is why I don't want to be here!" He nearly shouted.

Pali adjusted her hat again. "You can go home, you know. Your shift ended like..." she glanced to the clock, "three hours ago."

Shaking his head, Tyler continued his groaning. "And then you would just text me about how bored you are. Or Cee would."

"I resemble that remark." Cee huffed with a grin.

With a heavy sigh, Pali waved her hand. "Just go home you two. I might stay open for another hour, but I think we've got all the business we can today."

Tyler squinted his eyes with suspicion. "Are you staying out because you think we'll have more business, or staying out because you think he might swing around?"

Pali blushed furiously. "What? No!"

Gaping, Cee grinned. "Oh, right! Nick is supposed to be coming by later isn't he?" She cooed, clasping her hands to her chest. "It's like every fan fic ever!"

The two of them raised matching eyebrows at Cee, who only responded with some confusion. Pali snorted a laugh. Tyler, shaking his head, merely dismissed whatever comment he was going to say.

"You know what? No." He thought back, turning to fully face Cee. "You're the one pining over Bus Boy."

Pali's snorts grew louder as Cee's face was engulfed with the red in her cheeks. She looked away, mumbling in embarrassment. "No, it's cute!" Pali reassured her.

Cee raised an eyebrow, meeting Pali's gaze. "And so is your pining over Nick." She quipped back, even as her face betrayed how much she hadn't recovered from her own crush.

Waving both of their matching blushes off, Tyler untied his apron. "I'm tired. I'm going home. If Nick isn't here in thirty minutes, close the shop." He looked pointedly to Pali.

Conceding, Pali nodded. "Fine. He has thirty minutes. Both of you dorks go home." She barbed affectionately.

"Yeah, yeah." Cee yawned, stretching her arms over her head. "I guess I won't oppose that. Gatita will just ignore me when I get home."

Tyler snickered. "You two both whine about going home to cats who don't love you. You should get ferrets. But not my ferrets." He added quickly. "Lola and Chance are mine."

"You can keep them. I only want visitations." Cee smirked, undoing her own apron as they both made to clock out for the night. Pali waved goodbye to the both of them, sending Tyler home with some of the leftover brownies. She promised Cee something else, but Cee refused with a polite smile. Pali snuck some scones into her backpack anyways.

Without the almost boisterous pair, the silence of the shop was almost deafening. Pali watched the time slowly drip by at a snail's pace. The ticking seemed to be setting some march as her heart slowly sank. No sign of Nick. She sighed, standing. She slowly wiped down tables, cleaned and changed napkin dispensers, anything to keep her eyes off of that cursed clock. It reminded her that she seemed to just always be waiting. She was always waiting for those moments. Maybe not in all aspects of her life. She finally had the shop of her dreams. Her seizures were semi-stable. It was just...

If she was being perfectly honest, she was most certainly not looking forward to going to that small apartment. She loved time to herself, but it just reminded her of how lonely she felt sometimes. Those moments when Tyler wasn't a phone call away, or Cee had to deal with her own family. It made Pali have nice phone calls with her own mother, but...It just wasn't what she wanted. It wasn't all that she wanted.

It was probably Nick's fault. He came in with a gorgeous smile and a soft demeanor that turned into a sharp wit and an esteemed level of gentlemanliness. It almost left Pali speechless every time, but he always seemed to bring out a brighter side of her. Even when she felt at a loss for words in his presence, he always seemed to know what to say and she had a response. It was natural chemistry. And her dumbass was still in the pining stage. The one-sided pining stage, mind you. She constantly reminded herself.

Her head jerked up with almost unnatural speed when the bell above the door gave a start. It sang to her as her eyes met Nick's. He smiled brightly, eyes shining with warmth as he greeted her. "Hey."

"Hey." Pali shot back. "Have a good day?"

Nick sighed, almost like he was releasing something that had clogged up his chest. His smile was smaller, but more natural. "Better. Have anything warm still on the shelves?"

Pali grinned, making her way over to the counter. "Of course. Want your usual fuel too?"

He took soft, but confident strides across the tile floor before sitting on one of the casually decorated bar stools. He nodded. "Yeah, that sounds great."

Taking slow movements, Pali hummed as she readied Nick's drink, but not before placing a warm tart that she hadn't recalled making on a plate for him. She wondered idly if it was Tyler or Cee who made the tarts today. Cee was always the closest to the recipe, but Tyler always messed up somehow and made it sweeter. She could feel Nick's eyes on her as she moved about.

"Slow day?" He started some conversation after Pali had set the machine to make his drink.

She chuckled, tucking her bangs behind her ear. "Yeah. Just the usuals, but slower. It always is this time of year." She stated. "What about you? Or was it stress today?"

Nick took another bite out of his tart before continuing. Pali watched him chew thoughtfully. She could spot the color of the tart. Ah, she did make it today. Cee always got the color wrong and Tyler's colors were always too bright. Not that Pail's were perfect, but that was for another ramble when Nick's mouth wasn't moving and making sounds and-oh, he was probably responding, wasn't he?

"-so it just has...been the usual I guess." His voice quickly dropped to a quieter tone. He looked almost forlornly at the tart. His feet swung carefully from his perched position on the stool. "....I guess it's worse because I don't even want to go home sometimes."

Pali raised an eyebrow as the machine beeped. She took out the pitcher and poured his drink before asking, "Why is that?"

Nick smiled at her, but something in his eyes showed that Pali was missing something. She wish she knew what. "No one to go home to." He sighed, fiddling with the remaining tart before pushing it aside. "Don't get me wrong. I love my place. It's just..."

"...It would be nice to have someone waiting there." Pali finished for him.

"The right someone." He corrected, smiling sincerely at Pali. He reached for his cup as she handed it to him. She could feel her fingers brush against those lovely hands. Her cheeks flushed slightly. 

She nodded in agreement, silent for a moment. "...yeah."

He tilted his head thoughtfully at her. She could tell there was something on his mind. He was fairly smart, and she was surprised he hadn't picked up on her....Tyler and Cee were right when they said....pining. Maybe he had noticed, and was too polite to say anything.

"-sometime?"

Pali blinked once, twice, before focusing back in. "Huh?" She asked with less finesse than what she had hoped.

Nick's cheeks dusted a lovely shade before he cleared his throat. He grinned nervously as he licked his lips to repeat himself. "I said, 'would you like to go to dinner sometime?'" He raised a hopeful eyebrow, leaning forward slightly in his stool.

Her mind blanked. It felt like a screeching noise, and she prayed that she wasn't actually screeching. Her grin creeped across her face before she nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah!" She shouted louder than she had meant too. She flushed at her bold answer, but continued onwards. "Yes, I'd love too. We could go now? Or sometime later if-"

"Now would be great." Nick's smile melted into something endearing, or maybe perhaps something that was endeared. Pali returned it in all its capacity.

"Great."


End file.
